Robert Gates is not to blame that the ban on homosexual adult leaders was not addressed years sooner, but he must answer for the current plan that seeks to devolve anti-LGBT discrimination to all of those faith-based chartered organizations that might prefer to exclude LGBT parents. This is wrong and divisive.

We cannot allow the deaths of Yusor, Razan, and Deah, and others, to be in vain. I hope that these tragedies, even years down the road, will unite all Americans, and remind us to respect the value of all lives, regardless of appearance, orientation, or belief.

To save humanity from tearing itself apart, we must reject the erroneous premise that some human beings have been created as less than others. We must accept as inviolable and "self-evident" the truths that God is indeed compassionate and all-loving, and that all of us have been created equal.

There are a number of things in the Bible that should trouble any reader. We find in its pages things like genocide, gang rape, and slavery -- not only being sanctioned, but at times even being commanded.

We will need to demonstrate that there are viable nonviolent means of dealing with societal problems--ways that are not only effective, but in fact more effective than violence is at resolving conflict, and keeping us safe as a society.

Young diaspora Muslims are flocking to Syria and signing up with ISIS to fight in a cosmic war while others plot domestic violence against secularism in their adopted homelands. Nothing as horrific as 9-11 or 7-7 has yet to take place but some believe it's just a matter of time.

We are having the wrong debate. This isn't about religion, this is about culture. To understand this we need the context of history -- something both of those nincompoops (and most polemicists) somehow forget.

On a deep and genuine level, people of the various faiths have to accept that God has given multiple ways in which people can serve, worship, and reunite with him. We have to start to honestly feel this way and not just recite it.

In today's world, I get inspiration from the American Muslims who abhor all the violence and who host and invite me and Jews and other Christians of my kind to their hyper-peaceful Iftar dinners during Ramadan. These are small beginnings, but they are beginnings.

The phenomenon of intra-religious strife highlights the key problem with using religious texts and doctrines to address ethical issues in general, and in particular, how we treat other human beings. All holy texts, and the doctrines derived from such texts, are infinitely malleable.

Indians are caught between a rock and hard place. On one hand they want the government to reignite India's economic growth. And yet the party with the most pro-business credential is also cloaked in anti-modern social views that will further disadvantage India's struggling minorities and women.

Religious hostilities, intolerance, radicalization, polarization, marginalization, and discrimination are on the rise. It seems that the situation worsens by the day, while the accompanying violence is particularly alarming in Africa and -- to a lesser degree -- in South East Asia.

Together, we reminded each Zimbabwean, regardless of political or religious persuasion, to take responsibility for peace. The religious leaders, though not perfect, must be recognized for their role in the peace process.

Does religion make you a better person, or does it in fact do the opposite, and instead foster hate, fear, and violence? One does not have to look far to find examples of violence done at the hands of religious power, but is religion itself really to blame?

In the end, the fire in Yangon was indeed the result of an electrical shortage, but the suspicions surrounding the incident underscored a new normal: the brutal violence directed towards Muslims was now a national crisis.